Secured 'legally binding' guarantees to get Brexit deal agreed with EU: Theresa May

Britain's House of Commons overwhelmingly defeated the deal in January and was expected to do so again on March 12 without meaningful change.

Prime Minister Theresa May said March 11 she has secured "legally binding" guarantees from the EU designed to get the Brexit deal through the British parliament and avert a chaotic withdrawal.

She announced the move after a late evening dash to Strasbourg to hammer out the changes with top European officials, as the clock ticked down to Britain's scheduled divorce from the bloc on March 29.

European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker warned that the stakes were increasingly high, ahead of a vote by British lawmakers on the deal on March 12.

"The choice is clear: it is this deal, or Brexit may not happen at all. Let's bring the UK's withdrawal to an orderly end," the former Luxembourg premier told reporters, sitting next to May at a late-night press conference in the French city.

The three-part package of changes effectively aims to resolve a key sticking point for British MPs over the so-called backstop plan to keep open the border between EU member Ireland and the British province of Northern Ireland.

"Today we have secured legal changes," May told reporters after the talks with Juncker and the European Union's chief negotiator Michel Barnier.

"Now is the time to come together, to back this improved Brexit deal, and to deliver on the instruction of the British people." UK lawmakers will study the new proposals before holding a vote on the divorce deal Tuesday, with just 17 days remaining before Britain's planned split from the bloc after 46 years.

Britain's House of Commons overwhelmingly defeated the deal in January and was expected to do so again on March 12 without meaningful change.

Another defeat in parliament could see Britain sever ties with its closest trading partner on March 29 with no new arrangements, causing huge disruption on both sides of the Channel.

It would also raise the possibility of postponing Brexit, after May promised to allow MPs a vote later this week on whether to accept a "no deal" scenario or request a short delay from the EU.

Juncker said he recommended the deal to the EU Council, which represents member states, and that Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar was prepared to back the changes on the backstop.

Brexit-supporting MPs reacted cautiously to news of the agreement, but said they wanted to examine the detail.

"We will certainly analyse that very, very carefully," said Nigel Dodds of Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), part of May's coalition government.

The DUP's support is crucial if the deal is to pass the House of Commons. May's trip to Strasbourg caused concern among some MPs, who had complained they may not have enough time to scrutinise what May agreed before being asked to vote.

"Is this incompetence or is this just contempt for parliament?" said opposition Labour MP Yvette Cooper.